Japan, Aus, US and India launch Quad Fellowships

Published 30/09/2021

New Quad Fellowships will offer 100 students from Australia, India, Japan, and the US the chance to pursue masters and doctoral degrees at “leading” STEM graduate universities in the US.

The Quad Fellowship will sponsor 25 students from each of the countries annually, according to the White House.

“We’re launching a Quad Fellowship for students from each of our Quad countries to pursue advanced degrees in leading STEM programs here in the US,” US president Joe Biden said. “It represents an investment in the leaders, innovators and pioneers of tomorrow.”

“It represents an investment in the leaders, innovators and pioneers of tomorrow”

Schmidt Futures will operate and administer the program in consultation with a non-governmental taskforce, comprised of academic, foreign policy, and private sector leaders from each Quad country, the White House noted.

Founding sponsors include Accenture, Blackstone, Boeing, Google, Mastercard, and Western Digital.

Led by the US, the Quad summit in September was “an opportunity to refocus ourselves and the world on the Indo-Pacific and on our vision for what we hope to achieve”, partners said.

The diplomatic network aims to support an open, inclusive and resilient Indo-Pacific region, Quad member Australia contends.

“At this summit, I hope we can take stock of concrete progress achieved so far and discuss ways to further expand the Quad cooperation in new areas, such as infrastructure and clean energy, and to promote people-to-people exchange in science and technology,” Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga said at the event.

The new program will “bring together exceptional American, Japanese, Australian, and Indian masters and doctoral students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to study in the US”, partners noted.

It will also develop a network of science and technology experts “committed to advancing innovation and collaboration in the private, public, and academic sectors, in their own nations and among Quad countries”.

Quad Scholars will gain an understanding of one another’s societies and cultures through cohort-wide trips to each Quad country and robust programming with each country’s top scientists, technologists, and politicians, they added.

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